In the hard-hit Ahrweiler district alone, the whereabouts of 155 people is unclear. Authorities in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia fear that further fatalities could be found in the course of the clean-up work.
Koblenz – Six days after the devastating storms in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, many people are still missing. In Rhineland-Palatinate alone, the number is 155 people, according to the Koblenz police.
In the Rhein-Erft district in North Rhine-Westphalia, 14 people are still missing, and two more from the Euskirchen district. Their whereabouts are currently still uncertain, said District Administrator Frank Rock at a press conference of the district. Accordingly, the local personal information center has already been able to clarify many missing persons cases. “Many, many people have reported to their relatives and are doing well,” said the police.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, 48 people were killed by the flood. In the badly hit district of Ahrweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate, 122 people have so far been recovered dead. In both federal states, it cannot be ruled out that further victims will be discovered in the course of the clean-up work.
40,000 flood victims in the Ahrweiler district
Around 40,000 people are affected by the consequences of the devastating floods in the Ahrweiler district. It is an “enormous number of people” in an “enormous area,” said the head of the state’s crisis team and President of the Supervision and Service Directorate (ADD), Thomas Linnertz, in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. “We have never seen anything like it. That is a big challenge. “
The situation is still very tense: “Because so much of the infrastructure for supplying the population has been destroyed,” said Linnertz – and added: “Basic things such as electricity, water, sewage.” Weekend took over the management of the disaster relief in the Ahrweiler district, on supplying the people and providing assistance.
“Tremendous amounts of rubble and bulky waste”
The “disposal problem” is also an important topic, he said. “There are enormous amounts of rubble and bulky waste that accumulate and that are now piling up in the villages. That has to be transported out. ”Overall, the duration of the mission cannot be estimated. The damage situation is “very far-reaching”.
In the Ahr valley, around 2,500 people are currently deployed, including 800 soldiers from the Bundeswehr, 200 helpers from the technical relief organization and around 800 firefighters. Linnertz said around 300 people are used to provide emergency psychosocial care. dpa
